CREST – A Los Angeles public insurance adjusting company has agreed to a $129,000 settlement stemming from allegations that it misled victims of the October 2003 wildfires.

State Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi said the company, Kapilow & Son, used unlicensed adjusters and took a greater share of insurance proceeds than promised.

At a news conference yesterday with District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, Garamendi said the settlement sends a message to companies that try to take advantage of fire victims.

"No way is the state of California and the county of San Diego going to allow these victims to be burned a second time," Garamendi said.

An anonymous tip alerted authorities to the situation, resulting in the lawsuit against Kapilow, filed by the District Attorney's Office.

The settlement calls for the company to pay $73,000 in restitution to four victims, plus $56,000 in penalties. The District Attorney's Office also obtained an injunction requiring the company to use licensed adjusters and properly disclose its fees.

The job of a public adjuster is to assist people in getting more money from their insurance claims. Dumanis said the public adjusters at Kapilow preyed on those who had lost everything.

"Instead of helping them, they took advantage of them," she said.

The news conference was held on the property of Corey Ritayik, who is rebuilding his home in Crest to replace the one he lost in the fires.

Ritayik, one of the four victims named in the complaint against Kapilow, said he hired the public adjuster after getting conflicting information from his insurance company.

Ritayik said he was told Kapilow would take 10 percent of the money it was able to obtain above his original insurance settlement. Instead, the company took 10 percent from all of his insurance payments.

"It made me really mad," Ritayik said. "I don't know how you could do this to people and sleep at night."

San Francisco attorney Marcus Merchasin, who represents company owner Alan Kapilow, said Kapilow agreed to the settlement to avoid the costs of litigation.

"He did not admit any guilt, nor did his company, because there was no guilt on his part," Merchasin said.

Merchasin said Kapilow's adjusters had applied for licenses before the October 2003 wildfires, but weren't awarded the licenses for more than a year. He said the contract with the wildfire victims spelled out how much the public adjusters would be paid.

"It's clear. It says what it says," he said.

Garamendi said Kapilow has been fined twice before by the state Department of Insurance, including a $14,000 fine in 2002 against Kapilow for failing to renew his license.

Merchasin said Kapilow didn't receive a notice to renew his license, and paid the bill when he realized his license had expired.